::Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble by Matt Broze
: Shawn (and everyone else who has read this book), can you expand on why you
: like this book? I've seen it touted many times so I went and bought it 6-8
: months ago. I realize it is the only book of its type for kayaking, but
: for me it was one of the most uninteresting books I've ever read.
Perhaps it's due to the timing in your learning cycle. I read it when I was just past the beginner stage, and a lot of the lessons in this book were eye-openers to me. Maybe when you read it, you already knew more about the dangers of hypothermia, cold weather paddling, navigation, etc. from your extensive first-year paddling, CPA seminars, etc. and the things in the book were repetitious or "well, I already knew that!" sort of things.
:I think
: Matt is a great guy but I couldn't get in to the very clinical analysis of
: each person's misadventure, and many of the stories as told by the people
: involved were difficult for me to get through as well.
I have a lot of respect for Matt, too, but I don't think he's the kind of guy who writes to keep a reader enthralled. He's a pretty cut-and-dry, "this is how it is" guy. Again, the stories of misadventure aren't written by professional authors.
: Just curious what I'm missing... Maybe I was expecting more adventure. I just
: seemed to miss underscoring the real danger these people were in.
Maybe it depends on your expectations of this book.
You missed the danger in the guy getting his head crushed by icefall from a tidewater glacier, or the other guy getting a big shark bite in his kayak? I wasn't exactly "chilled to the bone", but I did get a sense that I wouldn't want to trade places with them!! 
: P.S. Not related to HOW to kayak, but a book I'm currently enjoying is
: "Homelands: Kayaking the Inside Passage". I like journal style
: books, so if you folks know of any others like this please let me know!
Kayaking the Vermilion Sea by Jonathan Waterman was pretty good. A guy and his wife set off to paddle the length of the Baja peninsula.
A Day of Two Sunsets by Michael Graves? about his experiences paddling the Vancouver Island area was enjoyable if for nothing more than a "Hey, I want to go there someday" book.
I really enjoyed one about the couple who spent two years up on the Saskatchewan river, but I can't remember the name right off the top of my head....
They're shorter, but I think Rich Dempsey's Barrengrounds trip reports rival most of the books I've read.
Shawn
